I have no idea what is going on in my neck and brainstem
@JES. Been trying to figure that out for quite a while. At this point, it looks like AAI but not CCI in terms of the imaging, though definitive diagnosis has not been made. How about you? What is your situation vis a vis the upper cervical spine?
My response to manual traction was positive for CCI. In fact, it gave me such relief, my PT suggested I borrow a supine traction device (Saunders or one like it) from her office and use it at home daily. I did that for a month and the overall improvements during the traction and for a few hours afterwards were so stupendous, I bought one for myself. Not cheap, but they do not pull up on the jaw and provide, I think, a cleaner kind of traction than the over-the-door sorts.
I used that twice daily for another couple months, tapered down to once a day and am now able to use it every other day for about 10 minutes. It has not cured me, but my function has improved about 10-15%. And while I did not notice any specific cessation of POTS symptoms during traction--like you--I have noticed that they have become more intermittent and mild to the point that I haven't had to even think about lying down in public in months!
I think there is something extremely reassuring about knowing that when I start to feel symptoms--POTS/PEM--there is something to DO about it. I cannot directly tie the decrease in POTS symptoms to the traction, but that was the thing that changed, the new treatment introduced.
Jen B's POTS went into remission after her CCI surgery. I don't know where it stands at the moment, but I recall that it was a dramatic improvement she experienced after the fusion. So there may be something to it. As always, we continue to try to shine light into the mystery....